When I started working on the pictures of Joe's funeral that Jack Hammond was kind enough to send, I had planned on creating many more pages for Joe. I started checking all of my old files, some of the back newsletters and old e-mail that I received from him in the past. I was completely overwhelmed by what I discovered and decided to only put up a few pages for him. Joe was a modest man and he never wanted very much fanfare for anything he achieved, in fact, think he would have been a “little embarrassed” if he knew what I was writing about him.

I don't know all of the duty stations that Joe was assigned to in his long career in the US Navy, but he must have served aboard many other ships besides the old Turtle. I'm very comfortable in saying that he was a good Chief and that he helped many a young sailor solve their problems.

Just to mention a few. As our two term President and Membership Chairman, he was responsible for recruiting many new members for the Tortuga Association including many former LSD-26 crew members as well as the LSD-46 former and current crew members. He was instrumental in raising funds for the Tortuga Plaque project that is now permentally on the wall of the US Navy Memorial foundation in Washington DC.

Joe donated much of his own money to the project as well as many other good causes for the Tortuga Association and he brought "renewed enthusiasm" to the Association at a time when the Association was in what one might call a "slump".
One of Joe's last achievements was being awarded the Lone Sailor Award, which he named the President's award and Joe was overwhlemally nominated for this award at the New Orleans reunion.

The award was presented to Joe at his own home while being visited by his two brothers from out of town by Jack & Georgia Hammond then moved in with his son and daughter in-law where Joe spent his last days on this earth!
Jack Hammond put in the extra time and effort to have a personal plaque made for the Lone Sailor statue with a special inscription for his dear friend Joe Lee.

I think one of the most important things that Joe did was achieving the highest rank an enlisted man could achieve,
"COMMAND MASTER CHIEF, UNITED STATES NAVY".
Joe was an ordinary man who achieved extraordinary things in life!

It was no secret that Joe liked to have a cold one, or two, so how about opening a cold one, (A Pepsi for non alcoholic drinkers like me will do) and raise your glasses high in “one final toast to Joe and say“...

"THIS ONES FOR YOU CHIEF, JOB WELL DONE!

Could it be that Joe’s looking down smiling and saying, thanks guys!!!